Neighbors
by EzriaandLucian
Summary: Aria's step-dad is a complete deadbeat. He abuses her daily and she's never told anyone about it. Ezra is Aria's neighbor and best friend. Will he be able to help her?
1. Chapter 1

**I completely forgot I had this account, fml. I'm going to discontinue my old stories and write some new ones. -Allison**

 ***Warning- this story mentions abuse, alcohol, sex, coarse language***

 **Chapter one - Aria's POV**

Do you ever have that feeling that you can't get anything right?

I sat in my room studying for my science test. _Chapter 5: Simple Machines_. Simple, my ass. These equations were confusing as hell. I closed my book, defeated. I couldn't focus, anyway. My mind was on more important things.

As I was checking my twitter, I heard the door open and immediate yelling was heard.

"I don't give a fuck how loud I am!"

 _Ugh_. My step-dad was home. Drunk, again.

"Shh, it's late, the kids are trying to sleep," I heard my mom say. I still don't know why she puts up with her deadbeat husband. Just leave him already.

"I'm not drunk," he slurred.

"Chris, yes you are. You're drunk off your ass."

"Shut the fuck up, you're giving me a headache."

I put on my headphones, and blasted my music. This happens almost every night.

Even with my music on full blast, I could still hear the steps creaking when Chris walked up them.

He slowly opened my door, and came inside. Of course, a bottle in his hand. I looked up at him, and back at my phone. This made him angry.

"Are you not going to say hello?"

"Hi," I said in a 'stop talking, you annoy the shit out me' tone.

He walked closer towards me. I knew what was going to happen next.

He threw his almost empty bottle on the floor, making the glass shatter and end up all over my floor.

"Don't you disrespect me, you bitch."

His arm swung and his hand smacked across my face. His hand kept coming down on my face, and other parts of my body.

I took the hits, waiting for it to be over. I tried to keep quiet the best I could. I learned that the more noise I made, the longer it lasted.

He finally finished, and walked away.

Before he left the room, he told me to clean up the mess on the floor. I sat still on my bed, waiting for him to leave before I started to clean.

I cried silently as I picked up the rigid glass from the whiskey bottle.

I threw away the glass, and then started to get ready for bed. I was so tired from today.

"You alright, Ar?"

I jumped, not expecting Ezra, my neighbor and best friend, to suddenly speak.

"Oh, uh, yeah," I stuttered out.

"You don't look alright."

"I am, I am," I said, not even convincing myself.

"Aria, you know you can tell me anything."

I had a feeling he knew what has just happened, due to my window being open, and he lives right next to me.

"I'll come over after school, okay? We can talk tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting," he said.

A/N: I'm sorry if this sucks, but let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the sweet reviews, that means a lot. :) I waited a bit to write chapter two to see if I should continue.** _ **The italics mean that I switched to a narrative POV.**_ **Thank you again, Allison**

 **Chapter 2 - Aria's POV**

I woke up at 5:30, way too early, and started to get ready for school. I remembered that I have to go to Ezra's after school today.

I didn't know how or what I was going to tell him about all of this. I want to tell him that Chris is the cause of the bruises on my body.

Ezra asks about them a lot, but I always tell him I fell off my bike or something stupid. He lets the subject go, because he can tell I don't want to talk about it.

I am almost positive Ezra saw Chris and I's ordeal. My window was open, he had to have heard. That might make it easier to tell him, since he already knows what's coming.

I couldn't focus all day. I just wanted to go to Ezra's.

PLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLLPLL

I drove home and went straight to Ezra's after school. I knocked on his door and he came within a few moments. He greeted me with a hug and I walked inside.

I sat down on his couch and he got us some water. Ezra sat down next to me, not saying a word. I looked straight ahead of me, not wanting to talk just yet.

"So...let's talk," he said.

"Uh, y-yeah, let's talk."

I took a deep breath. Several, actually. I took a sip of water and closed my eyes.

"You know my step-dad, Chris...he, uh, he gets drunk almost every night. He doesn't know what he's doing half of the time. He comes up to my room a lot, and gets angry at me."

I didn't even feel the tears rolling down my face. I was taken out of my trance when Ezra scooted closer to me and wiped my tears away. I took some shaky breaths, and drank some more water. Ezra calmed me by running his hands up and down my shoulders.

"He hits me," I said suddenly.

"He hits me all the time. He gets angry for no reason, and he hits and punches me. It happens every night and-"

I felt his lips on mine. He kissed me. He's kissing me. What's going on? He's still kissing me.

He pulled away, and I could tell I looked confused and surprised.

"I'm sorry," he said, seeming to be shocked himself that he kissed me.

"It's okay, it was instinct," I said, brushing it off.

"Oh, um...yeah. Instinct," he said, knowing it was much more than that.

 _Ezra has secretly liked Aria for a while now. He's been wanting to tell her, but the timing was always wrong. He couldn't tell her from his bedroom window to hers, or at a time like this._

 _Ever since 7th grade, Ezra has admired Aria. They've always been neighbors, but Ezra wants it to be more than that. Way more. He thinks about her all the time. He asks her over a lot just so he can see her and spend time with her. Ezra would do almost anything for Aria, and he didn't know it yet, but that would be put to the test later._

"Should we call the police about this?"

"No, no that'll only make it worse," I said.

"He needs to understand that he can't hurt you like this," Ezra said, angry.

"Please don't say anything. I don't want anyone else but you to know about this. Okay?"

 _Ezra sighed, defeated. He wanted to protect her, but if he did, she would get angry._

"Okay," he said, and sighed once more.

"I just want to get my mind off of all this," I said.

"Okay, what do you want to do?"

"Can we play a board game?," I asked.

"Yeah, of course, which one?"

"Hm, how about _Hungry, Hungry Hippos_?"

Ezra laughed and said with a smile, "Of course, whatever you want."

Damn, that smile gets me everytime. Since seventh grade, I've liked Ezra. Everything about him is perfect. What's the use, though, he'd never like me.

He came back with the game, and we played for about an hour. My phone rang, and I looked to see who it was. _Chris. Fuck._

"Hello?"

"Where the fuck are you?"

"I'm at Ezra's, we were playing a board game," I calmly said.

"Do you think I care if you were playing a dumbass borard game? No. Get home, and then go to store and get me my vodka. You know the kind I like."

I knew this was a giant mistake, but I did it anyway.

"No," I said.

"What did you say to me?"

"I said no. I'm not getting you alcohol, I'm not old enough."

"Get. Home. Now."

I hung up. I knew I'd have to pay later, but in that moment, I couldn't care less.

"I have to get going"

"Wait," Ezra said, seeming worried.

"Yeah?"

"Let me walk you home. I want you to be safe."

"Okay, thank you," I said in almost a whisper.

He put his hand on the small of my back as we walked out the door.

We walked in silence, but it was a comfortable one. Once we got to my door, Ezra tensed up. He knew what was coming when I walked in. He hugged me and kissed the top of my head.

"Please, be safe. Please," he said, his eyes brimming with tears.

"You know I will."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Please review!**

 **Aria's POV**

I walked in the door, bracing myself for what was to come. I heard rustling from the kitchen. I didn't speak yet, fearing that if I did, something even worse would happen.

I slowly stepped into the kitchen and saw Chris rummaging through the liquor cabinet.

"Fuck," he muttered. "Where the hell is my scotch!"

He turned around and saw me in the doorway. He flared his nostrils and his face turned red.

"Did you buy my drink?"

"No," I said with a quiver in my voice.

"Well, why the hell not?," he slurred.

"It looks like you already had enough to drink tonight, Chris."

He got even more mad. He lunged toward me and was about to slap me until my face was as red as his. Just then, I heard a rustling at the door. I turned around and Ezra was at the door.

"What the hell?," Chris said, clearly annoyed.

Ezra walked toward us and pulled me to the side. He told me to stay where I was. _Oh shit, he's going to fight Chris, I thought._ My eyes widened, like I was silently telling him to stop. He was going to get hurt.

Ezra didn't listen to my silent plea. He walked away and stood in front of Chris.

"Were you going to hurt her?," he said, very angry.

Chris paused, then looked at me.

"Did you tell him that I hit you? Because that isn't true and you know it!"

I stood there shocked. He did not just say that.

"Well, did you? You're lying. I don't hit you, I never have."

Ezra said, "Cut the crap, Chris. I know what you do, and I'll have no problem calling the police about this."

Chris took a complete turn. His eyes narrowed into tiny slits, his face turning redder.

"Listen here, shitface. It's none of your business what I do to Aria. She deserves everything she gets. I hit her because I love her."

"That isn't love, that's sick. Also, it is my business, you're abusing your step-daughter, and that isn't right."

Chris sprung his fist up at Ezra's face. He hit back just as forceful. I stood there in shock, having no idea what to do.

Everything was flashing by me in a blur. First Chris and Ezra were fighting, and now Chris is on the floor. Ezra was beating the shit out of him, and I was kind of enjoying it.

I finally came to my senses and tried to break up the fight. I pulled Ezra off of Chris and kept him behind me. His nose was bloody, as were his fists.

He obeyed my request for him to calm down and stop fighting Chris. Chris got up off the floor and stumbled over himself.

"You bitch! You let him hit me like that? Go to your room!"

I simply grabbed Ezra and walked out the door with him. Chris, of course, was fuming. He yelled after us, but we didn't turn around or answer him.

We went back into Ezra's house and we got some water. I grabbed a first-aid kit to clean Ezra up. I hoisted myself up to the counter, and motioned him to come forward. He stood in between my legs as I cleaned up his nose and hands.

Ezra stood patiently as I mended the cuts. He stared at my face while I was looking down at his hands. I could feel his eyes on me.

"Finished," I whispered. I looked up, and Ezra was looking into my eyes.

We looked at each other for a moment, and then his head leaned in closer to mine. Our lips touched and we kissed. I kissed him back. It wasn't like earlier today. It was different, and I liked it.

"We should get to sleep," he said after we parted.

"Yeah, we should," I replied.

He helped me down from the counter and we walked upstairs to his room. He gave me a t-shirt and some shorts for me to change into.

I walked into the bathroom and changed and then brushed my teeth. I have a toothbrush at his house, and he has one at mine.

When I got out, he went to brush his teeth as well. I got into his bed, and closed my eyes. I was really tired from today.

I felt the bed dip and I opened my eyes. We smiled at each other and he pulled me close to him. I laid in his arms for the night, only thinking of this moment. I didn't want to think about what was next.


End file.
